Another New Member
Comments
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Thank Youron50 said:Best of luck
With the operation and ongoing treatments. I ve been here so long I have forgotten what most of that was like. Wishing you well Ron.
I am hoping that this will quickly be a memory, like broken bones I have had, though I am now officially part of this (Cancer) and will be here to help others through this, the posts from you and others are amazingly helpful in terms of support.
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I Will Asklp1964 said:Dear Friend,
Yes, you are going through one of the toughest part of your treatment. Sounds pretty routine so far. Don't be afraid of the surgery. It's gonna be a great feeling to have the cancer out of your body.
It is recomended to take at least 400mg Cimetidine/Tagamet (over the counter) twice a day starting 1 week before the surgery and continue for at least 2 weeks after. By some medical literature this may reduce the risk of the cancer spreading during surgery. I and many other people here took it and believe it may help. But definitely tell your doctor if you decided to try.
All the best for you,
Laz
I did not have time before surgery (tomoworrow) to try your suggestion but will speak with the Doctor. It seems Sloan is pretty good about adjunct therapy. Will need to write this down (just did write it down in fact.) WIll ask sometime in the next couple of days, or ask my wife to ask since I may be a bit out of it tomorrow.
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Everyone Has Been Greattootsie1 said:Hello
Welcome! Sorry you're having a reason to be here, but we will help if we can.
*hugs*
Gail
I am sorry to be here also, but everyone has been great. Not a club I wanted to be a part of, but in terms of a good thing in all this is what I have found on this board.
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Thank You Pilarpilarica said:Surgery stage IV
Hello !!! I had a similar surgery January 2nd. 2015........ They removed a tumor the size of a grapefruit from my sigmoid colon and were able to re-connect me. This was done at UPENN.
It does hurt but they give you medicine to control pain, you need to really start walking as soon as they tell you even if it hurts, walking helps healing and also helps getting things working properly inside. I was in the hospital for 5 days. So I had the surgery 5 weeks ago and I am doing my normal life (well if ther is anything normal ha,ha,ha).......
I wish you all the best and have faith that things will go well, positive thinking...........
xoxo
Pilar
The pain is a concern, but will have the morphine.
The catheter is making me wince a bit 
Glad you are recovering well, and will be here 5 weeks from now doing the same everyone here has done for me - support and hope.
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Starting Talking A BitEasyflip said:I was where you are now
2 years ago. It's scary as heck because there's so much unknown. You're in good hands at Sloan, trust what they say and follow their advice. I did the Tagamet thing, I figured it couldn't hurt. There is some pain with the surgery but it's manageable, mine was laporoscopic and the doc gave me the morphine pump right after. Start walking and you'll heal faster. Every stage is curable! Allow yourself a little freak out if you're a III or IV but don't stay there! Get busy with getting better! Breathe a huge sigh of relief if you're a I or a II, it's still cancer but caught early and very treatable. I suggest telling everyone you know, I personally am responsible for 9 friends getting colonoscopies. This disease needs public awareness and education, plus the support you will get helps with your survival. That's right, there's an emotional/spiritual/psychological component to your healing. Your staging will determine your chemo, that's where this board really helps because we've all done it. I love my doctors and nurses but frankly they just don't know what it's like because they've only read and heard about it second hand. Touch base with us after you've had your surgery, we're all pulling for you and wish you the best of luck, go get 'em friend! You can do this!
Easyflip/Richard
Really good advice, I have not quite hit freak out yet, moving too fast and not an official staging yet. It looks like it is going to be Stage II or III in all liklihood.
On th eve of surgery, I am beginning to question whether I need surgery or should just find some magic potion. (I do know better than that, but my mind is tricking me. The logical part is saying I am near the best place in the world for what I have.) Sort of cold feet like
I have been letting my friends know make sure to get checked, and I as I get used to this more, will open my mouth more. As to the emotional/spirtiual/psychological component, it makes total sense. Being able to help others is important. I do certain things already along those lines and even on a bad day helping makes it better. Yes, the books and training is different than being in it.
I am guessing I will be out of recovery maybe 6:00PM tomorrow. Not sure "how out of it" I will be, but will get back here ASAP to at least say a quick hello.
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Will DoFight for my love said:Best luck with surgery and
Best luck with surgery and have a speedy recovery.
Will get back here as soon as I can to let people to know how it went
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Bookmarked And BoughtBuddy2013 said:Welcome
So sorry you find yourself in this situation. SK has an excellent reputation.
Life Extension Foundation (LEF) web site has several articles under their 'Health Topics' which contain useful information for Colon Cancer, Cancer Surgery, Cancer Adjuvant Therapy, etc. I learned of it from another board member here when I was first diagnosed (stage IV).
If you decide to have chemo, there are supplements you can take that may help the chemo work better. LEF articles describe those.
Here is the link. http://www.lef.org/Protocols
I agree with the other board members on Tagamet to reduce 'seeding' possibility and walking early and often after surgery.
Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Quillan was the first book I read after diagnosis. Highly recommend to everyone, even folks without cancer.
Best of luck and blessings to you.
Bookmarked the webage and grabbed the book for my iPad. Bringing some movies, books, audio books, photos of beaches, moutnains, family and friends to have rotate, plus some Pink Floyd for the morphine trip.
Passed the information onto my wife to make sure to check with the doc.
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Welcome backNewHere said:Bookmarked And Bought
Bookmarked the webage and grabbed the book for my iPad. Bringing some movies, books, audio books, photos of beaches, moutnains, family and friends to have rotate, plus some Pink Floyd for the morphine trip.
Passed the information onto my wife to make sure to check with the doc.
Sounds like you have it all laid out and ready for your surgery. You will do well, with a good attitude and motivation you can't lose.
Keep us posted.
Sue - Trubrit
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getting ahead of the curve
....whole thing will be less than 6 weeks.
Not sure whether you have colon or rectal cancer, but there are some differences to be considered. The more of your story details that you can tell, the better people can help you. Here, and other sites, you can get pointed toward first class and world class treatments that average doctors miss. Perhaps save yourself some serious money and misery.
Beyond serum CEA...
It's a long story but we found we could help our future selves with these blood tests before surgery (and before neoadjuvant treatments like chemo and radiation before first surgery), with several of them repeated after surgery: CA19-9, CA72-4, TPS, LDH, hsCRP, ESR, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. You can, too. It's a small investment that can add years and/or save many (10s/100s of) thousands of dollars. A lot of average doctors are not familiar with why on some of these tests, they're behind the curve. You can fix that later, but you can't travel back in time for a redo.
Don't panic, ask questions, insist on choices and superior performances. With cancer, price is often a poor indicator of relative performance. At this point, starting sooner, even grim situations can be radically improved by starting with some of the suggestions here.
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Heading Outtanstaafl said:getting ahead of the curve
....whole thing will be less than 6 weeks.
Not sure whether you have colon or rectal cancer, but there are some differences to be considered. The more of your story details that you can tell, the better people can help you. Here, and other sites, you can get pointed toward first class and world class treatments that average doctors miss. Perhaps save yourself some serious money and misery.
Beyond serum CEA...
It's a long story but we found we could help our future selves with these blood tests before surgery (and before neoadjuvant treatments like chemo and radiation before first surgery), with several of them repeated after surgery: CA19-9, CA72-4, TPS, LDH, hsCRP, ESR, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. You can, too. It's a small investment that can add years and/or save many (10s/100s of) thousands of dollars. A lot of average doctors are not familiar with why on some of these tests, they're behind the curve. You can fix that later, but you can't travel back in time for a redo.
Don't panic, ask questions, insist on choices and superior performances. With cancer, price is often a poor indicator of relative performance. At this point, starting sooner, even grim situations can be radically improved by starting with some of the suggestions here.
Just saw the new messages, heading out now, but it is Colon Cancer (Ascending Colon/Cecum)
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Hope your surgery went wellNewHere said:Heading Out
Just saw the new messages, heading out now, but it is Colon Cancer (Ascending Colon/Cecum)
and everything was as expected. Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but along with walking, chewing gum can help with getting one's digestive system back on track. This part of the process usually seems to be a bit of a challenge for most of us post-surgery. Good luck, and keep us posted!
Hugs~AA
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Newly diagnosed
I know how you feel... I was diagnosed back in nov 2014 after I was rushed into emergency surgery to save my life... it was a bowel obstruction..tumor.. stage 3 colon cancer... its scary and they have told me that its too far gone for the chemo to get rid of it and that it would only make the reconnect more difficult ..so I opted to do no chemo and no radiation... they say I will just be under surveillance for the next 5 years..colonoscopys and cat and pet scans every 3 months ... its a scary time and when my fiance walked out because be could not handle me having this that made it even harder but I am pushing on and taking each day moment by moment...Good luck to you
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Back From Surgery
First off, I apologize for not posting sooner, did not quite have as much "get up and go" as I thought I would. Second, I will go back and try to post to posts I missed (If there is a preference I missed for how posts are ordered, that would be great. It seems to be threaded and I am not seeing an option to flat view by time and date). I am sure what follows will be familiar to those who have been down this road.
Anyway, the surgery happened Tuesday afternoon. The whole time leaving up to the surgery was really tough, I just wanted to run out of there, my head knew better but I just wanted to run. I figured if I ran out in the hospital gown, worse comes to worse NYPD would pick me up and send me for a psych evaluation, which sounded like a better option
Afterwards the surgeon said "Pretty much what we thought going in," with a couple of minor wrinkles but nothing earth shattering. It seems to have been a golf ball size tumor, give or take, and right now I am in the waiting game for the pathology report on lymph nodes and the rest. The lymph nodes appeared inflamed by a visual (and what the pre OP scans indicated), but will not know for sure until the things come back.
I was really out of it coming out of the general, and vaguely remember pain, but sort of a distant memory. Was in recovery for about 5 hours. The sliver of ice I was able to have was amazing, and that became a recurring theme during the next couple of days
The little bits allowed were tremendous. My wife said I was treating the sponge on the sticks like gold and it was funny to see me daintily wet my lips There was no real pain, the first day I hit the pain button often, more from the fear of pain as compared to actual pain. It was more discomfort, though coughing, sneezing etc could cause some spikes. Spasms started the second day, but gave me some meds for that.
The next day they started me walking, which I was prepared for based on what everyone said here. And the first "trip" was tough. I had to stop every 4 feet. Did not think I could make a "lap," but the nurse was great and what everyone said here to me kept on repeating in my mind. Walking = Healing. By the end of the day I did a total of 3 laps I think, and was able to do the last one non-stop.
Upped the laps and it came together quickly, by the end of the second day I was going 3 laps at a time. By the third day, I was talking to some other patients (if they looked like they could use a word or talk) to let them know it really does get better and I was barely two days out.
Did have some bleeding during surgery, so needed to get a couple of units of blood about day 3 based on tests and other things.
Got home yesterday and slept really well, no IVs and not having BP and temperture taken every few hours helps
Thought I had more energy than I actually do, so a couple of hours of catching up on emails and the rest did take a bit out of me. Just got to go with sitting and watching TV, and doing laps and breathing exercises every commercial.The doctors and nurses were great, really caring and willing to talk about anything.
Once again, thanks to all. The words prior to the surgery really helped a lot and I thought of them often and I am sure helped to get me home quicker in terms of focusing on the walking and other items.
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Yipee!NewHere said:Back From Surgery
First off, I apologize for not posting sooner, did not quite have as much "get up and go" as I thought I would. Second, I will go back and try to post to posts I missed (If there is a preference I missed for how posts are ordered, that would be great. It seems to be threaded and I am not seeing an option to flat view by time and date). I am sure what follows will be familiar to those who have been down this road.
Anyway, the surgery happened Tuesday afternoon. The whole time leaving up to the surgery was really tough, I just wanted to run out of there, my head knew better but I just wanted to run. I figured if I ran out in the hospital gown, worse comes to worse NYPD would pick me up and send me for a psych evaluation, which sounded like a better option
Afterwards the surgeon said "Pretty much what we thought going in," with a couple of minor wrinkles but nothing earth shattering. It seems to have been a golf ball size tumor, give or take, and right now I am in the waiting game for the pathology report on lymph nodes and the rest. The lymph nodes appeared inflamed by a visual (and what the pre OP scans indicated), but will not know for sure until the things come back.
I was really out of it coming out of the general, and vaguely remember pain, but sort of a distant memory. Was in recovery for about 5 hours. The sliver of ice I was able to have was amazing, and that became a recurring theme during the next couple of days
The little bits allowed were tremendous. My wife said I was treating the sponge on the sticks like gold and it was funny to see me daintily wet my lips There was no real pain, the first day I hit the pain button often, more from the fear of pain as compared to actual pain. It was more discomfort, though coughing, sneezing etc could cause some spikes. Spasms started the second day, but gave me some meds for that.
The next day they started me walking, which I was prepared for based on what everyone said here. And the first "trip" was tough. I had to stop every 4 feet. Did not think I could make a "lap," but the nurse was great and what everyone said here to me kept on repeating in my mind. Walking = Healing. By the end of the day I did a total of 3 laps I think, and was able to do the last one non-stop.
Upped the laps and it came together quickly, by the end of the second day I was going 3 laps at a time. By the third day, I was talking to some other patients (if they looked like they could use a word or talk) to let them know it really does get better and I was barely two days out.
Did have some bleeding during surgery, so needed to get a couple of units of blood about day 3 based on tests and other things.
Got home yesterday and slept really well, no IVs and not having BP and temperture taken every few hours helps
Thought I had more energy than I actually do, so a couple of hours of catching up on emails and the rest did take a bit out of me. Just got to go with sitting and watching TV, and doing laps and breathing exercises every commercial.The doctors and nurses were great, really caring and willing to talk about anything.
Once again, thanks to all. The words prior to the surgery really helped a lot and I thought of them often and I am sure helped to get me home quicker in terms of focusing on the walking and other items.
So good to hear from you and know that all went welll with the surgery. Especially glad to hear that you are home, as there is no better place for recovery, and no better place to sleep than your own bed.
It sounds like you did everything you were supposed to do. The walking really is a blessing.
I hope your pathology comes back soon. I got mine the second day after surgery, so it was really quick.
Once path comes back, you will know what your next steps are going to be.
We will take this journey with you, and look forward to helping in any way we can.
Be good to yourself. Don't over-do it.
Sue - Trubrit
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I liked "the button" tooNewHere said:Back From Surgery
First off, I apologize for not posting sooner, did not quite have as much "get up and go" as I thought I would. Second, I will go back and try to post to posts I missed (If there is a preference I missed for how posts are ordered, that would be great. It seems to be threaded and I am not seeing an option to flat view by time and date). I am sure what follows will be familiar to those who have been down this road.
Anyway, the surgery happened Tuesday afternoon. The whole time leaving up to the surgery was really tough, I just wanted to run out of there, my head knew better but I just wanted to run. I figured if I ran out in the hospital gown, worse comes to worse NYPD would pick me up and send me for a psych evaluation, which sounded like a better option
Afterwards the surgeon said "Pretty much what we thought going in," with a couple of minor wrinkles but nothing earth shattering. It seems to have been a golf ball size tumor, give or take, and right now I am in the waiting game for the pathology report on lymph nodes and the rest. The lymph nodes appeared inflamed by a visual (and what the pre OP scans indicated), but will not know for sure until the things come back.
I was really out of it coming out of the general, and vaguely remember pain, but sort of a distant memory. Was in recovery for about 5 hours. The sliver of ice I was able to have was amazing, and that became a recurring theme during the next couple of days
The little bits allowed were tremendous. My wife said I was treating the sponge on the sticks like gold and it was funny to see me daintily wet my lips There was no real pain, the first day I hit the pain button often, more from the fear of pain as compared to actual pain. It was more discomfort, though coughing, sneezing etc could cause some spikes. Spasms started the second day, but gave me some meds for that.
The next day they started me walking, which I was prepared for based on what everyone said here. And the first "trip" was tough. I had to stop every 4 feet. Did not think I could make a "lap," but the nurse was great and what everyone said here to me kept on repeating in my mind. Walking = Healing. By the end of the day I did a total of 3 laps I think, and was able to do the last one non-stop.
Upped the laps and it came together quickly, by the end of the second day I was going 3 laps at a time. By the third day, I was talking to some other patients (if they looked like they could use a word or talk) to let them know it really does get better and I was barely two days out.
Did have some bleeding during surgery, so needed to get a couple of units of blood about day 3 based on tests and other things.
Got home yesterday and slept really well, no IVs and not having BP and temperture taken every few hours helps
Thought I had more energy than I actually do, so a couple of hours of catching up on emails and the rest did take a bit out of me. Just got to go with sitting and watching TV, and doing laps and breathing exercises every commercial.The doctors and nurses were great, really caring and willing to talk about anything.
Once again, thanks to all. The words prior to the surgery really helped a lot and I thought of them often and I am sure helped to get me home quicker in terms of focusing on the walking and other items.
Good for you. Those first few days after surgery are tough, but my recollection is that most of the difficulty was about being tired and weak rather than pain. Though, about that pain. The last thing the nurse did before clearing out the whole crew that was getting me settled was to ask if I wanted "the button" - that button you could push for a little extra hit of narcotics just in case. Hey, I'm a child of the 60s. What could possibly go wrong? I hit it over and over again, more in anticipation of pain than due to any real pain. By midnight or so, I was so stoned the nurse and technician who came in to get vitals and such left with eyes the size of saucers. I must have been a tad rude.
Glad to hear that you made it through and are home resting. I found that Netflix became my best friend. I started searching for the dumbest old comedies I could find and laughed my way through recovery for weeks. Rest, drink plenty of water, and find a few laughs.
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The Gum Thingannalexandria said:Hope your surgery went well
and everything was as expected. Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but along with walking, chewing gum can help with getting one's digestive system back on track. This part of the process usually seems to be a bit of a challenge for most of us post-surgery. Good luck, and keep us posted!
Hugs~AA
Someone in the hospital also mentioned the gum thing, I am now chewing to get things going properly
The whole surgry went overall well (posted some details) and I think fear/anxious/the unknown was as big an issue. The advice here helped so much, and looks like I am embarking on chemo shortly. Not sure how soon that will start, whether there is a time period after surgery or they go ASAP. Will find out next week when I meet with them.
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Thoughts With YouKimber8920 said:Newly diagnosed
I know how you feel... I was diagnosed back in nov 2014 after I was rushed into emergency surgery to save my life... it was a bowel obstruction..tumor.. stage 3 colon cancer... its scary and they have told me that its too far gone for the chemo to get rid of it and that it would only make the reconnect more difficult ..so I opted to do no chemo and no radiation... they say I will just be under surveillance for the next 5 years..colonoscopys and cat and pet scans every 3 months ... its a scary time and when my fiance walked out because be could not handle me having this that made it even harder but I am pushing on and taking each day moment by moment...Good luck to you
Sorry to hear about your situation, including about your fiance. There are many people who will be around to help and care, so try to focus on that. I just look at how people here have been to me and it helps.
I was just told Stage III about an hour ago. No radiation, but looks like 6 months of chemo. It seems to be the proper course for me based on what they found - seems they got everything but there are lymph nodes involved.
One of the terms I picked up on is NED here. You and I will be looking forward to the next 5 years of NED reports. In November 2019 the cheer will be for you and in February 2020 it will be for me
This whole waiting game and retests though really seems to add some stress to this all
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Tired Sneaks UpTrubrit said:Yipee!
So good to hear from you and know that all went welll with the surgery. Especially glad to hear that you are home, as there is no better place for recovery, and no better place to sleep than your own bed.
It sounds like you did everything you were supposed to do. The walking really is a blessing.
I hope your pathology comes back soon. I got mine the second day after surgery, so it was really quick.
Once path comes back, you will know what your next steps are going to be.
We will take this journey with you, and look forward to helping in any way we can.
Be good to yourself. Don't over-do it.
Sue - Trubrit
I have fallen into the don't over do it trap
The tired is a little sneaky, expecially after the first night back home and some real sleep. Caught up on emails and couple "taxing" things like reading. Then got tired. Not flat out on back, but really just wanted to sit on on couch and watch TV.Path back an hour ago - Stage III. Details of further treatment will come next week.
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